Scrap Mechanic logic gates: how they compare with real ones
Scrap Mechanic is a sandbox building game by Axolot Games for Windows on Steam. Its Logic Gate block, according to the official Scrap Mechanic wiki, processes binary signals (1 for on, 0 for off) from buttons, switches, sensors, timers and other gates, and offers six modes: AND, OR and XOR and their inverses NAND, NOR and XNOR. There is no NOT mode, but a NAND or NOR with a single input works as one. Each gate has an output delay of 1 tick, 0.025 seconds, and the wiki notes that gates looped together make latches and flip-flops, the basis of memory, and that players have built working computers from them. Those are exactly the gates of real digital logic, which makes Scrap Mechanic a fun way in.
How Scrap Mechanic's gates map to real logic
The six modes are the six standard two-input gates, and using a one-input NAND or NOR as NOT is a real trick too: NAND and NOR are universal, so every other gate can be built from either one. The 1-tick delay makes timing visible: a signal through five gates arrives five ticks later, just as each real gate adds a few nanoseconds of propagation delay, and it is what lets a loop of gates oscillate as a clock. (digiwleea is an independent project, not affiliated with Axolot Games.)
Building the gates themselves
In Scrap Mechanic a gate is a block you place; in digiwleea you build it, in the browser, from CMOS transistors, then combine gates into adders, latches, flip-flops, registers, RAM and an 8-bit CPU that runs a stored program, plus the assembly language behind it, through a 40+ level course where every part is checked against its truth table, with an AI tutor (Wleea). The simulator settles each instant at once instead of counting ticks, so you see the logic rather than the delay.
| Scrap Mechanic | digiwleea | |
|---|---|---|
| Gate modes | AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, XNOR (NOT via a one-input NAND or NOR) | Every gate, built from transistors |
| Timing | 1 tick (0.025 s) per gate | Settles each step at once |
| Memory | Loops of gates make latches and flip-flops | The same: latches and flip-flops from gates |
| Inputs | Buttons, switches, sensors, timers | Inputs, clocks and the parts you build |
| Runs in | Scrap Mechanic on Windows | Any modern browser, nothing to install |
Scrap Mechanic builds and the real circuits behind them
- The six gate modes. AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR and XNOR, each with its truth table.
- NOT from a one-input NAND. Why it works, and every other gate from NAND alone: NAND as a universal gate.
- Memory loops. The SR latch, the D latch and the D flip-flop.
- Pulse generators. In hardware a pulse on a change is an edge detector.
- Computers from gates. An 8-bit ALU, a register file and the CPU simulator.
Other games do logic too: Oxygen Not Included, Wiremod in Garry's Mod and Minecraft redstone.
No sign-up is needed to start: open the lab and place your first transistor, or read the free theory course. The account (and the AI tutor) are optional.
More comparisons: Games about logic and computers
See for yourself: build a logic gate from transistors in the simulator, then follow the path from sand to an 8-bit CPU.
Open the digiwleea lab →Frequently asked
What logic gates does Scrap Mechanic have?
One Logic Gate block with six modes: AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR and XNOR. There is no NOT mode, but a NAND or NOR gate with a single input acts as NOT.
How do you make a NOT gate in Scrap Mechanic?
Set a Logic Gate to NAND or NOR and connect just one input. With one input both of them output the opposite of it, which is a NOT gate.
How fast are Scrap Mechanic logic gates?
The official wiki gives each gate an output delay of 1 tick, 0.025 seconds, so a signal that passes through several gates arrives several ticks later.
How do you make memory in Scrap Mechanic?
Loop logic gates back on each other to make a latch or flip-flop, which stores a 1 or a 0. Real memory cells start the same way, as two gates feeding each other.